This invention relates to a method and apparatus for producing a three dimensional television image and, more particularly, the invention is concerned with providing a single three dimensional image by presenting a pair of stereo images, one of the pair being exposed for a relatively long period of time while the other being flashed at the subliminal level.
The production of a system that would be compatible with present broadcast standards and would produce the desired three dimensional effect without the use of special viewing glasses and without undesired effects on the viewer has long been a goal of the television industry. One such system is described in my previously filed U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 308,209 now abandoned.
Human visual perception of three dimensions requires, in part, stereo images, one image corresponding to each eye, viewed from slightly different angles corresponding to the separation of the eyes. A three dimensional television system requires a stereo pair of television cameras and a means for combining the camera electronic signals into a single electronic signal suitable for broadcast. The method of the aforementioned application Ser. No. 308,209, now abandoned, is such a system but the system has some inherent undesired effects such as jumping effect in the foreground when stereo cameras are aimed at background or jumping effect in the background when cameras are aimed at foreground.
Subliminal techniques have already been introduced to television. A picture that suggested to viewers that they drink a name brand soft drink was flashed to viewers. The suggestive picture was flashed on and off so rapidly that viewers were not consciously aware that the picture had been flashed on. However, it was found that the picture had a subconscious or subliminal effect on the viewers and many of the viewers went to their refrigerators and got soft drinks as the picture suggested.